It's official, Ireland are the No.1 team in world rugby

We desperately need gaineline punch at 12 to get defenses back peddling and turning inwards for our outside backs. It’s not jordie I’m afraid.

Btw. Where have those stats come from?

“Of the 45 players assembled for July’s Tests, nearly half are over 30. Most were central to the 2019 and 2023 World Cup triumphs. But how many will still be effective, let alone in one piece, come 2027?”

How many of them are still in one piece now? Its pretty telling that SA went from having the most settled team in the world from 2021-2023, to absolute inconsistency in selection in 2024. Obviously the team still did extremely well, but the message seemed to be that the best players couldn’t be relied upon to perform every week. Etzebeth and PSDT are still world class, but there aren’t many more names that really strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. SA will still win a lot of games, but that will be by virtue of how well drilled they are, and how well used they are to playing together. As the old guard begin to lose their places in the side, that will cease to be the case.